preschool

New Year’s Eve Sensory Tray

December 31, 2021 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

_______

This New Year’s Eve sensory tray is full of party vibes. It is an inviting loose parts tray to offer at a New Year’s Eve event, or on the first day of class in January. The dinner-themed play invitation is currently ready for my preschoolers to explore when they are back at school next week. I’m excited to see how they use it!

The featured tray is called a “tuff tray”, or “active world tray.” In our country (Canada) they are available to order online at Scholar’s Choice.

My active world tuff tray is a recent addition to my stock of early learning resources, and I love using it.

_______

Supplies To Collect

New Year's Eve sensory play tray with a party theme.

_______

To recreate this tray, pick a set of disposable paper New Year’s party plates. Use the colors in the plates to guide the color scheme for the loose parts in the active world tray. My plates are gold, silver, black and white, with metallic touches. I use gold and silver metallic accessories for the tray.

Loose parts to include:

round placemat
disposable cups and cutlery
gift boxes
serving bowls and spoons
tongs
star-shaped containers
strips of bead garland
buttons
play coins
small bells
large ornament bells
present ornaments
balls cut from garland
tiny trophies

_______

The New Year’s Eve Sensory Tray

Gather loose parts that you have available. Arrange them as a dinner invitation.

New Year's Eve tuff tray filled with dinner-themed loose parts little learners will love to party with.

_______

Serving containers in a variety of sizes and shapes add appeal and provide options for manipulating loose parts.

Bells are a welcome addition to any sensory activity. There are large bell ornaments and small jingling bells in the tray, offering a musical component.

The featured gift boxes are clear and contain tiny trophies and ornaments. Little learners can explore them and change up the contents. Gold or silver gift boxes would work wonderfully too.

New Year's Eve sensory tray featuring dinnerware, gift boxes, and metallic loose parts.

_______

Space Kitchen Activity Tray

To extend the sensory experience, switch out the New Year’s dinner plates for tin pie plate ones. The activity tray will become a space-themed play invitation!

Cut metallic bead garland and necklaces make the perfect loose parts for an outer space spaghetti pretend play meal.

_______

Other active world tray ideas:

Fall Sensory Play

Spider Theme Activities

Christmas Village Tuff Tray

_______

New Year's Eve sensory tray dinner-themed loose parts little learners will love to have a pretend party with.

______

More New Year’s Activities:

New Year’s All Gold Sensory Activity

New Year’s Countdown Activities

New Year’s Crafts

New Year’s Sensory Tray

New Year’s Art and Math Activities

_______

[Read more…]

New Year’s All Gold Sensory Activity

December 30, 2021 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

An inviting New Year's all gold sensory bowl filled with shiny items little learners will love to explore.

_______

This New Year’s all gold sensory activity is filled with … you guessed it…all gold loose parts! It’s one I’ve been wanting to put together for a while and finally did. Whether the loose parts are organized in a bin or tray, this activity is one your little learners will love to take part in.

_______.

Gold And New Year’s

Glittery, metallic gold is a popular color for New Year’s celebrations. And it usually plays a big part in Christmas festivities too.

Gold is considered a symbol of wealth. But in addition to monetary wealth, the rich color also represents a wealth of experience, knowledge, and love. And who doesn’t wish for all these things, especially at the beginning of a new year?

_______

Follow me on Pinterest for more New Year’s ideas.

_______

Supplies To Collect

New Year's all gold sensory bin loose parts tray for little learners to explore.

_______

Gather the following supplies in metallic gold:

tiny trophies
small present and drum decorations
play coins
assorted buttons
miniature ornaments
bows
jingle bells
strands cut from beaded necklaces
tongs
spoons
cups

It’s easy to find these items during the holiday season. And I’m sure you will be able to think of even more things to add.

New Year's all gold sensory activity loose parts tray.

_______

“All Gold” Sensory Bin

A large clear plastic salad bowl makes a good bin for this sensory setup. But a plastic square or rectangular container works fine too.

A rich New Year's all gold sensory activity featuring shiny metallic loose parts for little learners to explore.

_______

No base ingredient is needed for this eye-appealing activity. Just throw a mix of metallic gold loose parts in your container of choice. Then set it out on a table with golden cups, tongs, and spoons for your little learners to explore.

_______

All Gold Sensory Tray

If you only have a small supply of golden items, why not use a serving tray. Your little charges will be happy to dive in and investigate the shiny “treasures” in the tray.

_______

New Year's metallic gold sensory bin loose parts tray.

_______

Aside from being associated with New Year’s events, gold is an alluring color all in itself. And this is my primary reason for putting together this glamourous play invitation.

_______

What would you add to this sensory activity? Share in a comment below.

_______

More New Year’s Activities

New Year’s Eve Sensory Tray

New Year’s Countdown Activities

New Year’s Crafts

New Year’s Sensory Tray

New Year’s Art and Math Activities

_______

[Read more…]

CD Case Christmas Craft

December 24, 2021 by Annette Kaminsky 2 Comments

_______

An empty or used empty CD case can be turned into a beautiful art or craft project. There are many creative ideas to try. For this blog post, I’m choosing to feature a CD case Christmas craft.

_______

Follow me on Pinterest for more creative ideas.

_______

Supplies To Collect

Gather the following for this seasonal craft:

clear CD jewel case
thin unpainted wood holiday decoration
festive cardstock
acrylic craft paint
scissors
ruler
glue stick
white glue or glue gun
craft bits: pony beads, holiday confetti, garland strips, sequins, punched paper snowflakes

_______

Assembling The CD Case Christmas Craft

Steps to making a CD case Christmas craft. An all-ages craft the whole family can do.

_______

Carefully remove the tray from a clear CD case.

Trim the cardstock pattern of choice to the size of the case.

With the case open, use a glue stick to adhere the cut cardstock to the bottom right section.

Paint a thin holiday-themed wood decoration with acrylic paint and let it dry. The paint and decoration can easily be found at dollar stores.

Note: Acrylic paint dries quickly and comes in a large variety of colors. It’s so fun to use!

Glue the painted wood shape to the cardstock.

Add craft bits of choice.

Close the case snugly.

Make this easy and fun holiday-themed CD craft today!

_______

Display on a shelf or wall in the classroom or your home.

Tips: The craft bits can be glued down so they are stationary or left movable.

These holiday-themed CD case crafts are a lot of fun to make. Have the whole family create one!

_______

These charming CD case Christmas crafts are perfect for displaying during the holiday season.

_______

If desired, add a clear seal to keep the CD case closed.

You may wish to make this CD case Christmas craft in a variety of holiday and winter themes. The craft lends itself to being showcased in groups.

Make this cozy CD case Christmas craft in a variety of festive color schemes. An all-ages family craft.

_______

Of course, little learners can get in on making this creative craft. The activity could be a cooperative one for a parent/teacher/caregiver and child.

_______

CD Case Christmas Blocks

Instead of displaying the crafted CD jewel cases, include them on a table with blocks for little learners to use in construction play. This is an idea I look forward to exploring in the future.

_______

Make this winter-themed snowman CD case craft today! It's easy and fun to do.

_______

[Read more…]

Plaid-Themed Christmas Rice Bin

December 24, 2021 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

_______

Sensory bins are one of my favorite things to put together. There is a multitude of themes for bins to choose from, and so many interesting loose parts to include. Sometimes one or two items provide inspiration for a whole bin. And that’s the case with this rustic plaid-themed Christmas rice bin.

A few years ago, I spotted plaid gift boxes at Michael’s and snapped a couple up. Right then and there I got the idea for this cozy bin. It took a while to collect enough intriguing items for little learners to explore. This year the concept finally came together.

_______

Plaid-Themed Christmas Rice Bin

The container to hold all the sensory supplies is an inexpensive spiral saucer sled!

Glutinous rice is the base. I like it a lot because its super white color provides good contrast for the contents of the bin. One five kg bag fills the saucer-shaped container nicely.

_______

Plaid-themed Christmas items scattered over the rice are:

gift boxes
plush ornament balls
sheep fridge magnets
nutcracker soldier marionette ornament
cuddly bear
shovel ornament
small photo frame accented with jingle bells
Santa train engine cookie tin on wheels

A delightful plaid-themed holiday rice bin filled with cozy items for little learners to explore year after year.

_______

The photo frame could be personalized with a picture of a little learner.

The bells on the frame add a musical element to the play experience, always a plus.

The nutcracker soldier has a special feature: his legs do the splits when the attached string is pulled.

Undoubtedly the Santa train engine cookie tin is the highlight of the holiday-themed bin.

Cozy plaid-themed Christmas gift boxes and ornaments to fill a holiday rice bin.

_______

Tip: If you try a version of this activity, make sure there are no sharp edges on the items you choose for your bin.

Have you put together a unique sensory bin? I’d love to hear about it.

_______

More Christmas Activities

Llama Llama Holiday Drama Sensory Bin

Christmas Village Tuff Tray

Orange-scented Playdough Invitation

Santa Claus Sensory Bin

_______

Candy Cane Science Experiment

Plaid-themed Christmas Rice Bin

Lemon-scented Christmas Playdough

Lemon cypress scented playdough with cut silk poinsettia leaves and bracts.

_______

Easy S’mores Bars

Christmas Tree Decorating Center

Christmas Sensory Play

Handprint Angel Christmas Keepsake

_______

[Read more…]

Christmas Sheep Craft

December 23, 2021 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

_______

This adorable Christmas sheep craft offers all the fun that dressing in “crazy Christmas clothing” does. It is inspired by a charming cartoon posted on Facebook by Farm Rescue. A free printable is downloadable below to make the craft easy to make.

_______

Christmas Sheep Craft Supplies

Gather the following craft supplies in holiday colors for this craft:

pom poms
bows
garland
pipe cleaners
foam Christmas shapes
gem stickers
stars
snowflakes
buttons
fade-resistant construction paper

_______

Making The Sheep Craft

invite little learners to make this colorful Christmas sweater-inspired sheep craft.

_______

Draw a sheep on white cardstock or download one of the printables below. Cut it out. Then snip off the head.

Downloadable template for a Christmas sheep craft.

_______

Sheep Printable 1Download

This printable is for individual or one classroom use only.

_______

Sheep Printable 2Download

This printable is for individual or one classroom use only.

_______

Trace and cut out a slightly larger version of the wooly body from colored construction paper.

Use a glue stick to adhere the colored piece over the top of the white body.

Then glue the head back on.

Invite your little learner to add festive decorations to the sheep using white glue or a glue stick.

Make this festive sheep craft to add some fun to the holiday season.

_______

Make this adorable festive sheep craft with easy to gather supplies.

_______

Make this crazy Christmas sheep craft with holiday craft supplies. Free printable included.

_______

Variation Of The Craft

For an easier version of the craft, download and make a copy of the sheep printable. Have your little learner color it and add Christmas sticker accents.

_______

This craft is fun for the whole family to do. Why not invite everyone to make one. You could have a contest and pick the winner of the “craziest Christmas sheep craft.”

Make this Christmas sweater-inspired sheep craft in a bunch of colors!

_______

[Read more…]